Wrench.



C. J. WHITMORE. WRENGH. APPLICATION nun JULY' 6,1908.

905,776. Patented Deg 1, 1908.

b =ZVI% v INVE'NTDR.

WITNESSES! BY ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES J. WHITMORE, OF JEWETT, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO D. L. BARRICK, OF WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 6, 1908.

Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

Serial No. 441,939.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES J. WHIT- MORE, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Jewett, county of Harrison, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in wrenches, and more particularly to a wrench of the sliding-j aw type; and it has for its primary object to provide a wrench having a which has a certain range of self-adjustment, rendering its grip vise-like and adapting it for re eated applications to the article which is eing rotated without hand adjustment, and also adapting it for use upon pipes or nuts of varying sizes without adjustment.

A further object is to provide a wrench which may be readily adjusted by hand to gras nuts, pipes, or the like, of any size, and whic 1 does not require that such adjustment be accurate in order to revent its slipping when in o eration; and, urther, to provide a wrench w ose gras becomes more firm as the power applied t ereto is increased.

With these and other objects in view, all of which will hereinafter be made apparent, the invention finally consists in the particular construction, arrangement and combination of parts which will hereinafter be fully described, reference being had to the accomanying drawing, forming a part of this speci- Ecation, in which Figure 1 is a rear or to plan view of the invention; Fig. 2 is a si e elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section on the line 33, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 44, Fig. 3; Figs. 5 and 6 are detail perspective views of the foremost and rearmost aws respectively; and Fig. 7 is a similar view of the controlling spring employed in connection with the rearmost jaw.

Referring to said drawing, in which like reference-characters designate like parts throughout the several views1 indicates a longitudinal shank which is referably rectangular in cross section and which has a handle 2 ivotally attached at 3 to its rear end. Sli ably mounted upon said shank 1 is a rear jaw 4 which has an integral inclined lip 5 adapted for interlocking engagement with the teeth 6 carried on the under side of the shank, for preventingchance rearward movement of said jaw when in operation.

Said jaw is normally held by means of an appropriate spring 7 attached thereto in a position causing said lip to engage a tooth 6. As is obvious, the position of said jaw may be shifted by hand by producing a sufficient compression of the spring to hold the lip out of engagement with the teeth of the shank.

Slidable upon the extreme front end of the shank is a jaw 8 to which is pivotally connected at 9, on opposite sides thereof two parallel links 10 whose rear ends are mounted upon a-pivot pin 11 projected through an extended nose or enlargement 12 formed on said handle 2 at its front end above the pivot 3. As is apparent, when the handle is upraised with relation to the shank, the jaw 8 will be thrust forward along said shank, increasing the distance between said jaw 8 and said jaw 4. Then, applying the device to the pipe or other article to be grasped, as shown in Fig. 2, when the handle is depressed, as when a turning force is applied thereto, the jaw 8 is drawn rearward so as to coact with the jaw 4 for gripping the pipe, as is shown in dotted lines in said Fig. 2.

In practice, the jaw 4 is adjusted upon the shank with relation to the size of the article to be grasped, and the handle is upraised to thrust the jaw 8 outward to its limit on said shank. This adjustment of the jaw 4 need not be made with precision or accuracy, but only to effect such a spacing of the jaws with relation to each other that manipulation of the handle will effect the further closing of the jaws upon the article. The jaws then being made to straddle the article, power is applied to the handle, causing the jaw 8, through the links 10, to be drawn rearward into cooperative relation to said jaw 4, or in pipe-grasping position, which position may be anywhere between that shown in full lines and that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. To release the jaws, the handle has only to be raised.

Shoulders 13 and 14 are respectively carried by the handle and the shank, said shoulders being adapted to abut against one another when the handle is depressed for limiting the downward movement of the latter with respect to said shank. Shoulders 15 and 16 are also respectively formed on the handle and shank, said shoulders being adapted to abut against one another for limiting the upward movement of said handle with respect to said shank.

While the spring 7 may be of any appropriate character or form and may be mounted in any manner suitable for normally holding the lip of the jaw 4 in engagement with the shank, the spring illustrated in the drawing is preferred on account of its simplicity and the ease with which it may be replaced, should it become defective. Said spring consists of a flat metal plate bent to form a member 7 adapted for lying close upon the upper edge of the shank, a member 7 adapted for resting against the under side of the cross-member 4 of the adjustable jaw 4, and an upturned lip 7 through which an attaching screw 17 is directed into the rear end of said cross-member.

It will be observed that the wrench described has a certain range of self adjustment, rendering close or accurate adjustment by hand unnecessary; that a powerful grasp upon an article interposed between the aws may be readily obtained, thereby rendering slipping and resultant mutilation of the interposed article Well nigh impossible; that the greater the power applied to the handle, the tighter the grasp of the jaws upon the interposed article will become and that, within a certain range, the wrench may be applied to articles of varying sizes without its being necessary to resort to hand adjustment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a wrench, a toothed shank, a handle pivotally connected to said shank, a pair of cooperating jaws slidably mounted upon said shank, means whereby one of said jaws is retained in adjusted position, and pivoted links connecting the other jaw to said handle whereby the last mentioned jaw is brought into cooperative relation with the first mentioned jaw upon the application of downwardly-directed force to said handle.

2. In a wrench, a shank, a handle pivotally attached to the rear end of said shank, a

1 pair of movable jaws on said shank, adjusting means for the rearmost of said jaws, and pivoted connecting links between the handle and the foremost jaw whereby movement of the former effects movement of the latter to ward and away from the rearmost jaw.

3. In a wrench, a shank, a handle pivotally attached to the rear end of said shank, a pair of jaws movable along said shank, means whereby the rearmost of said aws is maintained in adjusted position, and a pair of links pivotally connected at their opposite ends to said handle and to the foremost of said jaws whereby movement of the handle with respect to said shank is communicated to the foremost jaw.

4. In a wrench, a shank, a handle pivotally attached to the rear end of said shank, a

pair of jaws movable along said shank, means whereby the rearmost of said jaws is maintained in adjusted position, an extension carried by said handle above its pivotal connection with said shank, and links pivoted to said extension at one end and to the foremost jaw at the opposite end whereby downwardlydirected force applied to said handle efiects a rearward movement of said foremost jaw.

5. In a wrench, a shank having teeth on one edge thereof, a handle pivotally connected to the rear end of said shank, a pair of jaws movable on said shank, the rearmost of said jaws having means adapted for engaga ment with said teeth, means for norma ly maintaining said engagement, and pivoted links interposed between said handle and the foremost jaw whereby movement of the former effects movement of the latter along said shank.

6. In a wrench, a shank having teeth on one edge thereof, a handle pivotally connected to the rear end of said shank, a pair of jaws movably mounted on said shank, the rearmost of said jaws having a lip adapted for interlocking engagement with said teeth, means for normally maintaining said engagement, and a pair of linksinterposed between said handle and the foremost jaw whereby movement of the former effects movement of the latter along the shank.

7. In a wrench, a shank having teeth thereon, a handle pivotally connected to the rear end of said shank, a pair of jaws movable along said shank, the rearmost of saidjaws having a lip adapted for engagement with said teeth, means for normally maintaining said engagement, an extension formed on the handle above its pivotal connection with the shank, and links pivotally attached to said extension and to the foremost jaw whereby the latter is drawn rearward along said shank when said handle is lowered.

8. In a wrench, a shank having teeth thereon, a handle pivotally connected to the rear end of said shank, a pair of jaws movable along said shank, the rearmost of said jaws having a lip adapted for engagement with said teeth, means for normally maintaining said engagement, an extension formed on the handle above its pivotal connection with the shank, links pivotally attached to said extension and to the foremost j aw whereby the latter is drawn rearward along said shank when said. handle is lowered, and means for limiting the range of movement of said handle with respect to the shank.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES J. WHITMORE.

Witnesses:

ROBERT BUTCHER. J. O. MCMANUS. 

